Of Nightcalls and Secrets
by Amber Spirit
Summary: Abe/Mihashi... In which Abe is in a denial and angry and Mihashi wears his duck pajamas...and is depressed.


_**Disclaimer: I do not own Ookiku Furikabutte**_

_**AN: **_Alright, so I decided there are not NEARLY enough fics with these two, so here! Come on guys! Let's create a proper section for this fandom! The more fanfics the better!!!

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_**Of nightcalls and secrets**_

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Ever since five years of age, Mihashi always attracted bullies.

It didn't matter if he was being friendly, avoiding them or didn't even exchange a couple of words. The group of older boys would see him; observe his movements for a few seconds and BAM. 'I don't know who THAT is, but we're definitely flushing his gym shorts down the toilet.'

It was like that ever since he could remember.

His mother told him it couldn't be helped, that he was that sort of person who gets picked on and that he shouldn't let it bring him down. "In fact, it would make you stronger, Ren." She often said and patted his head affectionately. Mihashi tried to ignore it as best as he could but it always affected him in a certain way which, in turn encouraged the bullies.

But ever since he became a part of Nishiura team, all the teasing stopped. Of course, not completely –he could still hear some snickers in the halls and whenever he had to talk in front of the whole class (oh God, those times were the WORST) some boys at the back would mimic his mannerism and offer crude gestures as a cruel parody of apology.

'_But it never went past that. It never boiled down to THIS'_ he thought with a growing sense of dread as he looked down at the training uniform clutched in his hand and the horrible word that was written right there at the centre.

He didn't know how they got into his locker, nor how hey found out the combination. The only thing he knew was that when his classes for the day were over, he packed up his stuff as fast as he could because he was already late and promised Abe that he would meet him early to perfect the signs- _and found his books, jacket and practice uniform thrown all over the hall._

He tried to wash out the insult from the shirt, but gradually realized that it was written with a permanent marker (exactly like his number ONE at the back) and it would take several weeks for it to come off properly. He tried it anyway, scrubbing at the piece of cloth in the deserted washroom, his tears mingling with the flowing water and soap in the sink.

He couldn't help it, he was so upset. Just when he decided to abandon the shirt in favor of crying his eyes out in the corner, his mobile phone started ringing and he picked it up without thinking.

"Y-yes ?" he sniffed and rubbed at his wet eyes in embarrassment. Since he still had a bit of soap on his fingers, it only irritated the eyeballs further.

"MIHASHI." Ah, it was Abe. Of course.

"Where are you?? I've been waiting for 15 minutes now so what the he-"

The voice stopped for a split second and Mihashi absentmindedly wondered if Abe was so angry that he hanged up on him and closed his eyes in fright.

"Mihashi?"

This time, Abe's voice was more silent and gentle and Mihashi gazed at the ceiling in surprise.

"Mihashi…are you…crying?"

And YES, with a horrified expression Mihashi realized that he WAS, his silent whimpers were carried over the phone probably…Oh, God Abe hated when he cried, didn't he? He always told him to toughen up, that his personality was annoying…the couch said so too, didn't she?

"N-no-o."

The denial was ruined by a loud sniff and Mihashi could hear Abe's long, suffering sigh at the other end of the line. It made him feel so stupid…

"M-my pr-practice uniform…"

He tried to explain, his voice high with hysteria. Should he tell him? But,but-no. Abe placed his trust in him and he even wanted to meet him early than the others so they can practice the signs and he was counting on him being THERE not HERE playing the part of the stupid crybaby that he was! What is he doing here? He has to go meet his catcher!!!

Somehow, Abe's voice always made him feel pressured and Mihashi frowned, feeling very stressed.

"What? What about your uniform? Did something happen?" The last sentence carried a certain sharp warning in it and made Mihashi blush, his face a red tomato. Abe was worried for him…Somehow that made him blush even more.

"I f-forgot to b-bring it." He lied awkwardly. "It w-was dirty s-so m mum, she –she wash-shed it and and"

"And you don't have it there with you. sigh It's not a big deal, Mihashi. Just bring your gym stuff or something."

Hmmm, that never occurred to him actually. In fact, it didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. But even if he tried to bring some other practice stuff-

"-but t-the n-number one wo-wouldn-wouldn't be t-there and and and my g-gym stuff-f-f, I I don't h-have it h-h-here!"

Mihashi jumped in fright as he heard an angry growl echoing through the phone and looked around the washroom nervously.

"It doesn't matter! Look, I'll just bring MY gym stuff and you can borrow it for today…just get here quickly because we're already losing enough time as it is.."

Even though Abe couldn't see him, Mihashi beamed with gratitude and nodded.

"Th-thank you Abe-kun! You're such a kind person!"

"Yeah, whatever." Abe mumbled but his voice sounded warmer than usual which in turn made Mihashi smile even more.

"I-I'll be there!" Mihashi stood up and after Abe said his goodbye, slipped the phone back into his pocket.

He packed the wet uniform and his books faster than you could say 'baseball'.

Wearing another people's clothes was a weird feeling, Mihashi decided. A new one too, considering the fact that he never in his life had to borrow t-shirts or shorts from another boy.

It was already time for group practice (the talk about the signs with Abe didn't last as long as he expected) and Mihashi was already dressed in the borrowed clothing, fidgeting slightly. Abe's gym wear consisted of a plain, dark green t-shirt and loose black shorts ending just below his knees. Well, originally that is. They dangled on Mihashi's smaller frame rather awkwardly and the green shirt was very loose on his chest and slightly long, though not as much as the pants. It was enough to show that the clothes weren't his but not enough to make him look ridiculous or create problems while practicing.

But that wasn't what bothered him. It was just that _those clothes belonged to Abe and he was wearing them right now and,_ and…it was** so** strange. He was conscious of every touch of fabric, of every brush of loose sleeves and every contact created by the foreign material. _Abe was wearing this outfit, maybe even yesterday_, Mihashi thought and blushed a deep red as he looked at his naked feet gawkily, _just like this, with his chest, shoulders, legs, knees, stomach and hips instead of mine…_

He tugged at the collar of is catcher's shirt uneasily and hid his mouth behind it. It was a strange gesture he sometimes used when he was confused and looked quite foolish whenever he did it. But now it made him feel strange and with a startling realization, Mihashi realized that the shirt even _smelled_ like Abe. Suddenly inspired, he buried his face into the fabric of the T-shirt and breathed in, his ears bright red, his eyes closed, his eyelids trembling.

'_How comforting'_ he thought pleasantly '_I feel like I'm in the eight lining and just got three outs. Like I won the game._'

It seemed sort of ironic that Abe's shirt smelled like victory and baseball, but Mihashi loved it. The smell was a strange mixture of heat, smoke, soap, steel, leather, skin, sweat and some sort of deodorant he couldn't recognize and altogether it smelled like Abe. Smiling stupidly for himself (and not aware of it) Mihashi took a last sniff and let the shirt fall on his stomach, straightening it up and blinking.

He should probably go outside already.

It started off only as an annoying flashback, but gradually became something a lot worse.

Whenever he tried to pitch, he would always remember that ugly _word _written on his practice uniform by those bullies and became nervous, miserable and above all -frightened.

Why _that word_? Sure, he got teased a lot in middle school but never in this way, never _that word_…so why? Maybe it's just a new type of insulting, a high school style, a grown up style of wounding your pride…But it was just an insult, right? Like when somebody calls you an idiot because you stole his pencil-that person doesn't think your IQ is lower than average, he just feels angry and wants you to know it. He doesn't REALLY think you're not intelligent.

It was the same thing, right? It's not like those guys who wrote it actually thought that…that…But what if they DID? Mihashi felt sick with fright only thinking about it.

And so because of this, his practice turned out to be a huge failure. He misunderstood the signs a lot, missed a lot of balls in his batting practice and once even took off to the completely different base than he was supposed to. He couldn't think straight-he felt ill with worry-what if those guys try something else next time? What if they ruin his books instead? What would his team think if Mihashi told them? Would their opinion of him change? Would they still respect him?

But in the end, he didn't say anything when Tajima asked him about his uniform. He just let Abe answer all the questions like usual and even when his catcher took his hand and remarked that it was cold and that "Mihashi ,you look really pale" he just made some excuse about being tired.

His team mates could probably feel his uneasiness because Mizutani suggested that they all should go somewhere together after the practice, to cinema or arcade preferably and everyone thought it was a great idea. But without even thinking about it, Mihashi excused himself, saying he was worn-out and probably needs some extra hours of sleep. Since nobody wanted to see their pitcher in a bad condition before the practice game tomorrow, they let him go.

He could feel Abe's gaze on him the whole time.

Ms Mihashi knew that there was something wrong with her son.

She didn't know what exactly, but the moment he stepped through the door and mumbled something about going to practice in the backyard, she realized that he was different. Of course, he still followed the same routine: come home, train some more, eat dinner, watch some baseball videos he borrowed and go to sleep. Ms Mihashi was really uneasy about the fact that there was no homework or studying in that routine, but she had already got used to the fact that baseball was alpha and omega of her son's life.

So no, there was nothing wrong with his routine…it was something different. She couldn't really pin point the exact reason, but something about her son's mannerism or better yet, something about his expression made her anxious. He was slower than usual, really out of it, as if something was worrying him and call it a mother's intuition but-

"Ren, did something happen at practice today?"

He abruptly looked up from his plate, his eyes wide open and wary.

"No. I just…I just feel tired."

Ms Mihashi knew that there was something wrong with her son.

It's not like Abe _really_ cared about that idiot. Because he didn't. But they DO have a match tomorrow and even though it's a practice one, their pitcher needs to be in perfect condition and Mihashi was anything but that. (At today's practice, that is.)

It's not like HE was the one who suggested the arcade. He just off handedly mentioned it to Tajima and it had by no means anything to do with Mihashi AT ALL. He just thought it a good team bonding experience that's all. (And his other part of the battery was looking slightly depressed.)

It does bother him to some extent that Mihashi wore his gym attire, because that means he has to wash it today and that's such a bother. Maybe he'll ask his mother to do it over the weekend. (Or next week. Or the week after that.)

Because it's not like he really enjoyed that idiot wearing his clothes. It's not like that green shirt brought out his eyes or that seeing his idiotic pitcher in stuff he wore yesterday made him feel oddly satisfied. (Not at all.)

Abe just thinks it's annoying because then his stuff would _smell_ like Mihashi and he has to WEAR that stuff tomorrow which isn't all right with him. He also knows that he absolutely cannot use another shirt for tomorrow gym class because… (BECAUSE.)

And also, Abe isn't WORRIED about Mihashi. (Of all people!)

He is just insulted because his pitcher lied to him about what happened at school and refused to talk to him. Did he think he wouldn't notice? Seriously…_**Battery doesn't have any **_**secrets**__ (He has to remember to tell that to Mihashi someday)

And it's not like Abe attempted to phone Mihashi fourteen times and backed off at the last minute before each call. And he absolutely didn't try to leave a message only to delete it right after. He was just playing with his phone. (He hasn't been thinking about that damn pitcher in any way shape or form.)

And when he decided to leave the arcade without his team mates, he intended to go right where he told them. Home. And the reason why his bike didn't stop at the road that led to his house was because he wanted to make a few rounds to clear his head. (And the fact that he was nearing Mihashi's street was a pure coincidence).

And it's not like Abe had to scrape his courage to actually call that idiot. And he absolutely wasn't upset that Mihashi didn't trust him enough to tell him what's wrong. And he wasn't phoning him or standing right outside his window like a protagonist in some bad teenage romance movie. (I mean, it's just _Mihashi,_ so why does it matter so much? )

And it's not like he was feeling particularly nervous.

(Ok, so maybe he was.)

(Just a little bit.)

(Shut.Up.)

Mihashi blushed when he realized what he was wearing and silently thanked God that nobody sees him in his kiddy _yellow pajamas with a duck pattern_. It was just his luck to pick them out today. He told his mum countless times to just throw them away but she insisted that they were cute and looked good on him.

Mihashi never really understood his mother.

After throwing some pitches in he backyard and failing miserably, Mihashi retired to his room earlier than usual (after putting on those horrible pajamas, of course) and sat on the bed, sighing. _What a horrible day_, he thought and looked at his half opened bag near his feet. After a twenty minute pause, he picked it up and once he found what he was searching for, the Nishiura ace held up his practice uniform, still wet from earlier.

The _word _stared back.

He was just about to burst into a new set of tears when his mobile phone started ringing the familiar tune and (for the second time that day) he picked up the nightcall without thinking.

"Y-yes?"

"MIHASHI."

Shaking off the strange feeling of déjà vu, the small boy immediately sat up straight, his expression that of extreme panic and alarm.

"A-a-abe-kun???"

He stuttered and looked around the room nervously, as if expecting the dark haired catcher to glare at him from its corners.

"Alright, no need to get so worked up. Wait…are you crying? Again?!"

Mihashi dropped the phone with a terrified "Eeeeeep!" and nearly killed himself when he fell from the bed reaching for it.

"N-n-noooo, I was just s-sleeping and…ju-just sleeping, s-sleeping!"

"Liar." The quiet voice stated and Mihashi blinked in confusion.

"I can see your lights are on."

"W-WHAT?"

This time Mihashi really injured himself as he hit his head against the wall by accident. Cradling his abused head, the ace pitcher stood up and brought the phone to his ear.

"Look outside your window."

The quiet voice sighed again and Mihashi took a few tentative steps forward, putting his hands on the glass. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and at first all he could see was a bush, a road, a bicycle that wasn't his and-

"WAAH!"

Right there in the centre of it all stood a familiar figure and upon squinting for a good half a minute, Mihashi recognized it as his catcher. Unbelievable. What was Abe doing here? Did he come here, because-

It took exactly three minutes for the information to properly sink in and it was only then that Mihashi realized that not only HE can see Abe, but Abe can see HIM. Blushing like mad, the Nishiura pitcher quickly jumped back from the window and ducked under its frame.

_Waaaaaah, h-he just s-saw me in my d-d-d-duck pajamas!!!!_

Embarrassed as hell, he quickly tugged at his top and started to hurriedly unbutton it. After he was done, Mihashi tossed it away and reached for the phone in panic.

"-ASHI! OPEN THE DAMN WINDOW!"

"Y-yyes, A-abe-kun!"

He jumped to the window once more and after looking down on himself, he nodded with satisfaction. Being shirtless was still better than be caught wearing a yellow duck pattern.

Mihashi clumsily opened the window, peeking outside. Abe was standing near the front porch, looking at the road with a bored expression, his black jacket unzipped and his hair messy from the light breeze. He didn't notice Mihashi right away and the young pitcher found it sort of strange to see his catcher standing outside his window this late…it was as if the mere presence of Abe changed the usual surroundings. Suddenly the trees behind him looked exotic and the grass softer, while the moon shined more brightly than usual. He saw Abe's bicycle and his white bag with practice clothes and catcher gear...That means he didn't go with his team mates to the arcade…or left in the middle of the gathering…Maybe it ended faster than Mihashi expected?

Ah, he noticed him! Here it comes-

"Today's practice was a disaster."

His voice was quiet over the phone and Mihashi could see Abe's lips moving, his expression serious. They way he said it and his voice…it was the last drop.

Mihashi burst into tears.

"I-I k-knoooow!"

He wailed, his hands gripping the windowsill with a pitcher's force. "I-I-I'm s-s-s-so sor-sorry!!!"

Abe's eyes widened with panic.

"Hey, there's no need to cry, alright?!"

"I-it iiis! I-I'm going t-to rui-ruin i-it tor-tomo-tomorrow!!!"

"Mihashi, you're not –"

"A-and I-I'm a n-no good p-pitcher an-and-"

"We already had this conversation before-"

"I d-don't d-deserve-"

"MIHASHI."

"A-a-and I-I-"

"MIHASHI, SHUT UP!"

There was silence for a while in which Mihashi didn't dare to look at the boy in question and blinked away the tears, looking around embarrassed. He could hear growling over the phone and when he finally scraped down his courage to look through the window, he jumped back in fright.

"Stop looking around, you idiot. You _know_ I'm not angry with you, right?"

Mihashi froze.

"You're….n-not?"

"Do I _look_ like I'm angry with you?"

Mihashi leaned over the window, his eyes searching the dark haired boy's face and he nodded.

"Y-you do."

"Damn you, Mihashi! I'M NOT!"

Ah. Maybe that was his usual expression.

"Look, I'm not blaming you or anything. It's rather obvious something happened today-"

At this point, Mihashi's gaze flickered to the wet practice uniform on the floor and _that word_ flashed in front of his eyes…and he panicked. There is absolutely NO WAY he'll tell Abe about this, NONE. He even shouted it out loud:

"NO!!!!"

and backed from the window hurriedly. He could sense Abe's surprise over the phone, but quickly realized that his catcher was a stubborn sort of person and won't leave him alone till he knows the truth.

The truth.

That _WORD._

Mihashi shakily hanged up on him.

_**It would forever remain a secret.**_


End file.
